FAO Knowledge Repository BETA

The FAO Knowledge Repository is FAO's official open repository, providing access to all of its publications. Through its open access policy, FAO seeks to increase the dissemination of its knowledge and to contribute to the scientific and technical impact of the Organization. 

 

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Featured publications

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Action Plan for the implementation of the FAO Strategy on Mainstreaming Biodiversity Across Agricultural Sectors 2024–2027
The Action Plan for the implementation of the FAO Strategy on Mainstreaming Biodiversity across Agricultural Sectors 2024–2027 reflects experiences gained from the implementation of the 2021–2023 Action Plan. It takes into account the Framework for Action on Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture, endorsed by the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA) and by the Council in 2021. It is aligned with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), adopted by the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in December 2022.In alignment with the FAO Strategy on Mainstreaming Biodiversity across Agricultural Sectors, FAO implements the Action Plan based on the principles of effective governance, partnerships, a knowledge-based approach, inclusiveness, and gender equality and women’s empowerment.
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FAO publications catalogue 2023
This catalogue aims to improve the dissemination and outreach of FAO’s knowledge products and overall publishing programme. By providing information on its key publications in every area of FAO’s work, and catering to a range of audiences, it thereby contributes to all organizational outcomes. From statistical analysis to specialized manuals to children’s books, FAO publications cater to a diverse range of audiences. This catalogue presents a selection of FAO’s main publications, produced in 2023 or earlier, ranging from its global reports and general interest publications to numerous specialized titles. In addition to the major themes of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, it also includes thematic sections on climate change, economic and social development, and food safety and nutrition.
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The Impact of Disasters on Agriculture and Food Security 2023
Disasters are resulting in unprecedented levels of destruction across the world. These shocks and disruptions affect the functioning and sustainability of agricultural production and threaten the livelihoods of millions of people reliant on agrifood systems.Reducing the impact of disasters in agriculture requires a better understanding of the extent to which these events produce negative impacts in agriculture and necessitates an investigation into the underlying risks that make agriculture vulnerable to the effects of disasters.The FAO flagship report on ‘The Impact of Disasters on Agriculture and Food Security’ provides a timely and comprehensive overview of how disasters are affecting agriculture and food security around the world.Building on previous work of the FAO on this topic, the report estimates losses caused by disasters on agricultural production over the past three decades and delves into the diverse threats and impacts affecting the crops, livestock, forestry, and fisheries and aquaculture subsectors. It analyzes the complex interplay of underlying risks, such as climate change, pandemics, epidemics and armed conflicts, and how they drive disaster risk in agriculture and agrifood systems at large.The report provides examples of actions and strategies for investing in resilience and proactively addressing risks in agriculture. It demonstrates ways to mainstream disaster risk into agricultural practices and policies and calls for a deeper understanding of the context in which these solutions are implemented.
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Agrifood solutions to climate change
Amid a worsening climate crisis and slow progress in cutting greenhouse gases, sustainable agrifood systems practices can help countries and communities to adapt, build resilience and mitigate emissions, ensuring food security and nutrition for a growing global population. FAO is working with countries and partners from government to community level to simultaneously address the challenges of food security, climate change and biodiversity loss.But none of this will ultimately succeed unless the world commits to a significant increase in the quality and quantity of climate finance.

Trending publications

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    Book (series)
    Respecting free, prior and informed consent
    Practical guidance for governments, companies, NGOs, indigenous peoples and local communities in relation to land acquisition
    2014
    Improving governance of tenure is the objective of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (Guidelines), which serve as a reference and set out principles and internationally accepted standards for responsible practices. The Guidelines state that responsible investments should do no harm, safeguard against dispossession of legitimate tenure right holders and environmental damage, and should respect human rights. This technical guide on Respecting free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) sets out practical actions for government agencies to respect and protect FPIC and for civil society organizations, land users and private investors globally to comply with their responsibilities in relation to FPIC, as endorsed by the Guidelines.
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    Book (series)
    The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2024
    Blue Transformation in action
    2024
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    The 2024 edition of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture features the Blue Transformation in action, illustrated by activities and initiatives, led by FAO in collaboration with Members, partners and key stakeholders, to integrate aquatic foods into global food security and sustainability, enhance policy advocacy, scientific research and capacity building, disseminate sustainable practices and technological innovations, and support community involvement. Part 1 of this edition of The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture benefits from significant improvements in data collection, analytical and assessment tools and methodologies to present the most up-to-date review of world fisheries and aquaculture production and utilization. Part 2 highlights the role of FAO and its partners to catalyse the transformational changes required to support aquaculture expansion and intensification, effective management of global fisheries and upgrading of aquatic value chains. Part 3 covers the high-impact challenges and opportunities of the untapped potential of utilizing whole fish and by-products to improve food security and nutrition, expounds on the role of aquatic food systems in providing critical climate, biodiversity and environmentally sound solutions, and highlights the importance of their integration into national and multilateral processes. It also presents an outlook on future trends up to 2032 based on projections. The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2024 provides the most up-to-date and evidence-based information, supporting policy, scientific and technical insights on challenges, opportunities and innovations shaping the present and future of the sector, for the benefit of a wide and expanding audience of policymakers, managers, scientists, fishers, farmers, traders, civil society activists and consumers.
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    Book (series)
    Compulsory acquisition of land and compensation 2008
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    Compulsory acquisition is the power of government to acquire private rights in land without the willing consent of the owner or occupant in order to benefit society and is often necessary for social and economic development and the protection of the natural environment. The exercise of these powers is frequently contentious and problematic. The guide explains what compulsory acquisition and compensation are, and what constitutes good practice in this area, examining the consequences of poor legi slation, procedures and implementation. It is likely to be of most use in countries that are seeking to understand good practice in this area and to improve their own legislation, procedures and implementation in compulsory purchase and compensation in the interests of society as a whole.
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    Book (stand-alone)
    Free Prior and Informed Consent: An indigenous peoples’ right and a good practice for local communities 2016

    This Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) Manual is designed as a tool for project practitioners of a broad range of projects and programmes of any development organization, by providing information about the right to FPIC and how it can be implemented in six steps.

    In an FPIC process, the “how”, “when” and “with and by whom”, are as important as “what” is being proposed. For an FPIC process to be effective and result in consent or lack of it, the way in which the process is conducted is paramount. The time allocated for the discussions among the indigenous peoples, the cultural appropriateness of the way the information is conveyed, and the involvement of the whole community, including key groups like women, the elderly and the youth in the process, are all essential. A thorough and well carried FPIC process helps guarantee everyone’s right to self-determination, allowing them to participate in decisions that affect their lives.

    This FPIC Manual will ena ble field practitioners to incorporate FPIC into project and programmes’ design and implementation, ensuring that indigenous peoples’ rights are duly respected. FPIC can be considered the “gold standard” because it allows for the highest form of participation of local stakeholders in development projects.

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    Book (series)
    The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2023
    Urbanization, agrifood systems transformation and healthy diets across the rural–urban continuum
    2023
    This report provides an update on global progress towards the targets of ending hunger (SDG Target 2.1) and all forms of malnutrition (SDG Target 2.2) and estimates on the number of people who are unable to afford a healthy diet. Since its 2017 edition, this report has repeatedly highlighted that the intensification and interaction of conflict, climate extremes and economic slowdowns and downturns, combined with highly unaffordable nutritious foods and growing inequality, are pushing us off track to meet the SDG 2 targets. However, other important megatrends must also be factored into the analysis to fully understand the challenges and opportunities for meeting the SDG 2 targets. One such megatrend, and the focus of this year’s report, is urbanization. New evidence shows that food purchases in some countries are no longer high only among urban households but also among rural households. Consumption of highly processed foods is also increasing in peri-urban and rural areas of some countries. These changes are affecting people’s food security and nutrition in ways that differ depending on where they live across the rural–urban continuum. This timely and relevant theme is aligned with the United Nations General Assembly-endorsed New Urban Agenda, and the report provides recommendations on the policies, investments and actions needed to address the challenges of agrifood systems transformation under urbanization and to enable opportunities for ensuring access to affordable healthy diets for everyone.

Recently added

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    Book (stand-alone)
    Compendium of forgotten foods in Africa
    A companion publication for Integrating Africa’s forgotten foods for better nutrition
    2024
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    The World Wide Fund for Nature defines a food system as “the complete set of people, institutions, activities, processes, and infrastructure involved in producing and consuming food for a given population.” (WWF, 2017). The food system has a bearing on human capital development, provision of jobs, industrial growth, structural transformation and ecosystem services. As in many other parts of the world, the landscape of African food systems is fraught with fragility and fails to deliver on these key developmental outcomes. Transforming food systems in Africa is an imperative for the realization of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, which now has a delivery timeline of less than a decade.A sustainability framework must underguard any attempts at food systems transformations. For example, Africa must provide food and nutrition security to its rapidly expanding population in perpetuity without engendering adverse environmental, social and economic externalities. The massive endowment of the continent with extensive arable land and diverse agro-ecosystems teeming with rich flora makes sustainable food systems a realizable dream. Indeed, Indigenous communities across Africa have used a number of locally adapted crops for millennia mainly for nutrition, medicinal and ornamental purposes. Unfortunately, many of these crops, have been progressively substituted with imported genotypes favoured by industrial agriculture. Pervasive monoculture of the exotic crops and increasingly standardized diets have contributed in part to utter denigration of the indigenous crops, earning them the appellation of "forgotten crops.”
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    Book (stand-alone)
    Options envisageables pour encourager, orienter et promouvoir la concrétisation des droits des agriculteurs, tels qu’énoncés à l’article 9 du Traité international 2024
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    Les agriculteurs nourrissent le monde en produisant les aliments dont nous dépendons tous. Étant donné que les agriculteurs sont les promoteurs et les gardiens de la diversité des plantes cultivées sur le terrain, leurs droits à cet égard sont fondamentaux pour maintenir leur rôle central d’assurer la sécurité alimentaire et nutritionnelle – jamais autant qu’à l’ère actuelle marquée par le changement climatique et les autres défis importants auxquels l’humanité est confrontée. Le Traité international sur les ressources phytogénétiques pour l’alimentation et l’agriculture (Traité international) est le premier accord international juridiquement contraignant à reconnaître formellement la contribution des communautés locales et autochtones et des agriculteurs à la conservation et à la mise en valeur des ressources phytogénétiques pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture. L’article 9 du Traité international prévoit la reconnaissance, la concrétisation et la promotion des droits des agriculteurs en ce qui concerne les ressources phytogénétiques pour l’alimentation et l’agriculture. Il est possible de réaliser les droits des agriculteurs grâce à une série de mesures et de pratiques qui peuvent être mises en place afin de protéger, promouvoir et concrétiser ces droits. La promotion et la concrétisation de ces droits permettent aux agriculteurs et aux communautés agricoles de continuer à jouer leur rôle de promoteurs et de gardiens de la diversité des plantes cultivées, et de nourrir le monde pour les générations à venir.Cette publication contient 27 options élaborées par un Groupe d'experts, en s'appuyant sur les données d’expériences des Parties contractantes et des parties prenantes. Ces dernières sont invitées à examiner l’ensemble des options en vue de réaliser les droits des agriculteurs au niveau national, conformément à leurs besoins et priorités et selon qu’il convient.
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    Book (stand-alone)
    L’Initiative pour la restauration: Revue annuelle 2022 2024
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    L’année 2022 marque l’achèvement de la quatrième année complète de mise en œuvre de l’Initiative pour la restauration (TRI). Malgré la persistance de la pandémie de covid-19 dans le monde entier, dont les répercussions n’ont pas épargné les partenaires TRI, de nombreux objectifs du programme ont été atteints. Avec la levée des restrictions de déplacement, la collaboration a pu reprendre, et les partenaires TRI se sont coordonnés pour accomplir les objectifs transversaux du programme et apprendre les uns des autres. À l’instar des années 2020 et 2021 qui ont apporté transitions et «nouvelle normalité», 2022 a été l’occasion pour l’ensemble des partenaires et des organismes de mise en œuvre de TRI de se recentrer sur les impératifs que sont la conduite locale de la restauration, le dialogue avec les communautés et le changement de perspective.
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    Book (stand-alone)
    Rural communication services for family farming in Asia and the Pacific
    Regional consultation and forum
    2024
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    The Global Action Plan of the UN Decade of Family Farming (UNDFF 2019-28) recognizes the need to promote rural communication services (RCS) to advance sustainable food systems. RCS comprise demand-led communication processes, media applications and institutional arrangements to respond to the needs of family farmers and rural populations in a sustained and inclusive manner.This report summarizes the results and takeaways of online consultations and a virtual Regional Forum on RCS for Family Farming in Asia and the Pacific, organized in 2022 by ComDev Asia (CDA), a regional communication initiative, in collaboration with FAO, farmers’ organizations, rural institutions and communication networks.
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    Book (series)
    Evaluación del estado de avance de políticas y planes de adaptación al cambio climático en la acuicultura en América Latina y el Caribe 2024
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    Este documento se publica en respuesta a las recomendaciones de los informes de reuniones ordinarias de la Comisión de Pesca en Pequeña Escala, Artesanal y Acuicultura para América Latina y el Caribe para abordar los impactos del cambio climático en la acuicultura en la región. En primer lugar, se describe el escenario de la acuicultura frente al cambio climático y la variabilidad climática. A continuación se detalla el enfoque metodológico empleado para realizar la evaluación, y por último se presentan las principales amenazas asociadas al cambio climático y sus impactos por tipo y sistema de cultivo, los instrumentos de gestión para la adaptación al cambio climático en la acuicultura, y estudios de caso de seis países que, en conjunto, representaron el 93 % de la producción acuícola en América Latina y el Caribe en 2021. Seguidamente se proponen recomendaciones dirigidas a las y los tomadores de decisión para la promoción de políticas y planes de adaptación al cambio climático. Por último, se presenta una pauta de referencia para abordar el diseño de un plan de adaptación al cambio climático en la acuicultura, orientada a fortalecer esta actividad en América Latina y, sobre todo, en el Caribe.